Code: Lyoko Shipping Theories
by Faldwin
Summary: This is not a fic. It is a write up on my various shipping theories for CL.


**Code: Lyoko Shipping Theories**

Before I begin, let me first clarify that the beginning of these theories is based solely on the first and second seasons. Since the third season changed so much about the ships for this show, and to tell you the truth, dumped Manta mines all over my shipping theories I am going to ignore it in the first part. Again before I begin I would like to explain why shipping is so difficult to do in this show.

The main reason for the headaches that this show has caused shippers is the strong friendship shared by the Lyoko Warriors. Due to this strong friendship, it is possible to find evidence for almost any ship. Even homosexual ones such as Odd/Ulrich often find shippers, even though it is highly unlikely that this will happen in a cartoon they are airing in the states. But more on that ship later. Because most of us are Americans, it is difficult for us to understand this depth of friendship. Consider this. If all of the Lyoko gang were siblings then all ships between them would be cancelled out by all of those with morals against incestuous relationships. However, if this were true, many of the small hints that support ships such as Yumi/Jeremie or Ulrich/Aelita would be dismissed as the closeness of the relationship. Well, in most cases with the subtle hints that people take as "evidence" for ships are simply evidence for the closeness of their friendship and nothing more. But enough of why shipping is hard, let me continue with my shipping theories.

In the first season the most obvious ship was "Ulrich/Yumi" They basically admitted to mutual romantic feelings between the two of them in "Routine" That near-kiss is the single greatest piece of evidence for the Yumi/Ulrich ship. Not to mention the countless other moments that support the ship. But believe it or not there is evidence against it. And the best way to debase a ship is to defend a counter ship. In other words, "Sue can't like Harry, because she likes Bob" In the case of Yumi/Ulrich you can easily defend other possible romantic interests for both of them. Allow me to begin with Yumi.

Looking purely at season one the best choice for Yumi (other than Ulrich of course) the best choice in my mind is Jeremie. The best piece of evidence (friendship-based though it may be) is from "Frontier". When Jeremie was trapped in limbo Yumi drew a picture of him in class. Obviously this is a rather weak argument for the ship, and be debased easily. However, something that people who debase ships fail to realize is the difference between evidence and foreshadowing. A popular way for show writers to foreshadow a future romantic relationship is with falsified love. This is shown particularly well in "Jimmy Neutron" by the love potion episode foreshadowing future real serious feelings between Jimmy and Cindy. In Code: Lyoko, this is shown in "Image Problem". The fake Yumi is seen flirting with Jeremie. Even though we know that this is not her and it gives no real "evidence" it does foreshadow that something may happen in the future.

All of this is only determined from season one. In the first five minutes of season two, the character that had added the most drama to the Yumi/Ulrich ship premiered, William. Obviously William likes Yumi. He has admitted this several times. But whether the feeling is mutual is debatable. Yumi and Ulrich obviously share romantic feelings for each other, but Yumi is waiting for Ulrich to make the first move. This is most likely influenced by her somewhat-traditional Japanese upbringing. Because Ulrich is not making the first move Yumi begins to tire of the waiting game. William is willing and waiting for her. Because William always treats her very well, Yumi finds herself beginning to like him in place of Ulrich. But she has liked Ulrich for such a long time that she is finding it hard to transition. Also, it would be difficult to uphold a romantic relationship with someone who does not know the secret of Lyoko. As anyone that has been in a successful relationship knows, trust is vital. Also she does not have the room in her life for a boyfriend what with the pressures of school, home and her duties in Lyoko, whether it is Ulrich, William, or even Jeremie.

Ulrich has even more realistic options than Yumi. I believe the most realistic of these is Sissi. She obviously likes him a lot. And from a writer's point of view putting the rivals of the opposite sex into a romantic relationship has been done countless times. Again, see the Jimmy/Cindy ship. The second season shows Sissi demonstrating even deeper affection for Ulrich. Before, one could argue that she simply like him because he was an athlete, and good looking. However, the kiss on the bridge and many other moments in the second season seem to show something deeper. Ulrich may even feel the same way to some extent. He is actually in a similar situation as Yumi. Because he has waited so long to tell Yumi of his feelings, some of the "sparks" may have died down. And even though a deeper connection may still exist, his hormonal instincts are getting bored. Also, just like Yumi, he has someone waiting eagerly for his affection that obviously cares for him a lot.

Caution: The following section contains support for a homosexual relationship. If you feel this would offend you or make you want to rip my head off and cast it into the fires of hell, then please skip this paragraph

I believe it is entirely possible that at the very least Odd is gay. He seems unable to maintain a relationship with a girl. I don't mean to be stereotypical, but Odd is also very artistic, a trait often related to homosexuality. As for Ulrich it can be very easily supported that he has heterosexual tendencies. However a romantic relationship between Odd and Ulrich could work well due to their close friendship.

Another possible choice for Ulrich would be Emily. She is the girl that he dated in "Routine". Obviously they are very happy together, so the relationship could very well be a happy one.

Keeping all of these counter ships in mind I would like to elucidate that, as of the end of the second season I support the Ulrich/Yumi ship. The evidence is overwhelming, and it is just not worth the headache to support something else.

The second most prevalent ship in Code: Lyoko is Jeremie/Aelita. This ship also has a huge amount of evidence in the first and second season. The highlights of these are in "Frontier" and "XANA's Kiss" I won't bother putting a huge amount of energy into defending this ship's existence, because everyone knows it. There are actually very little counter-ships for this couple as well. As I mentioned earlier the possibility of Jeremie/Yumi happening is not at all out of the question. As for Aelita, I can think of no one that would be realistic to have a romantic relationship with her. At least in the first two seasons. But more on that later.

At this point I have explored the romantic possibilities of all of the characters except for Odd. Because of his tendency to date girls for a very short period of time it is difficult to find a girl (or guy) for him that would break him of this habit. But the way I see it there are four possibilities for him. I already discussed his potential relationship with Ulrich, so consider this one of the four.

The most likely girlfriend for Odd would be Sissi in my opinion. Looking solely at season one, the ship still makes sense. This is due mainly to the tendency of show writers to ship rivals of the opposite sex. This applies even more with Odd and Sissi, because the enmity is mutual. However, further evidence is shown in "Déjà vu" in the second season. In this episode Odd and Sissi, are chatting with a mysterious dream girl and boy. At the end of the episode they realize that they have been chatting with each other. That alone is enough to support the ship. It is very strong evidence that the two had some chemistry when the filters of their enmity were removed. But then it gets better. When Odd sees that Sissi is the one he has been chatting with Sissi says that he is acting like he has never seen her before. He responds (to himself) "not like this" Not only does this mean that the relationship is valid, it means that Odd is willing to give it a chance.

There is one more girl that may very well be able to fit Odd's needs. The evidence is rather weak, but I think it is worth exploring. This girl is Milly. The primary evidence for this ship is in "Teddygodzilla" Odd is extremely helpful in assisting Milly in finding her teddy bear. While this could easily be passed off as simple friendliness, it still leaves the possibility open by treating the evidence as foreshadowing. Another major flaw in the validity of this ship is in the age difference. However, they are in fact only a year apart, the same distance between Ulrich and Yumi.

The most obvious choice for Odd, would be Samantha, his girlfriend that showed up once in season one and then only one time more in the third season. Although this seems to be the only girl that Odd has ever shown any real feelings for, I believe she is more of a plot device than a real romantic possibility. Even though a relationship between them could work well, I believe this theory has to be done from the writer's perspective.

When doing any theorizing for a fandom of any kind, there are two ways to approach it. The first way is more common. This is basing the theory on the actions and personality of the characters that you have seen so far. However, often this leaves the fan with too many options. So the writer's perspective is used. Simply put, this is a method of theorizing based on what would make a good story. However, these two do go hand in hand. It would not make a very good story for someone to act out of character. But I digress.

In the case of the Odd/Sam ship it makes more sense from a writer's perspective to match him with a character we know well. Actually, if I was writing the show, I would keep him single, but that is against the way of the shipper. Every person must be in a romantic relationship or dead.

There is one more ship that I feel I must discuss. This is Sissi/William. This ship actually makes a lot of sense. Their crushes like each other, so if William and Sissi hook up then everyone is happy. However, this ship has no real evidence other than that, so I don't support it.

Now that I explored all of the ships that I believe are possible, I am going to summarize what I think should and may happen in the romantic world of Kadic Junior high.(not necessarily in the order presented)

Ulrich will end up with Yumi, but not before dating Sissi

Yumi will end up with Ulrich, but not before dating William

Aelita will end up with Jeremie.

Jeremie will end up with Aelita

Odd will end up with Sissi

Sissi will end up with Odd, but not before dating William

William will die.

This is my theory that only takes into account the first two seasons. I will now explore the things that affected the ships in the third season.

The most dramatic thing to happen to the Yumi/Ulrich ship happened in the first episode of season three. This is the conversation.

Yumi: I think we've both been running around in circles

Ulrich: We have?

Yumi: One day we're together. The next day we're not. One day you're jealous. The next day I am, and that's why I think we've got to clear up our relationship. We can be friends but that's all.

Ulrich: Huh?

Yumi is describing what was happening at end of season two. The stalling on the part of Ulrich, resulting in a stagnant relationship was ending. With the influence of William and Sissi, the drama increased. This resulted in Yumi's confusion. Over the summer Yumi most likely did a lot of thinking. She realized that the result of all the confusion and drama was a direct result of her feelings for Ulrich, and vice versa. From the shippers point of view the obvious solution is for Yumi to admit her feelings and go out with Ulrich. However, Yumi figured out that this would not be the case. Even if both of their feelings were absolute (which may no longer be true) William and Sissi would still be getting in the way. As I said before, Yumi has been developing some feelings for William, as Ulrich has for Sissi. This makes a serious relationship between Ulrich and Yumi impossible until they both explore the feelings they hold for other people.

After this episode, I feel the entire issue was put on hold and ignored by the show writers. With a few minor exceptions all romantic issues involving the two disappeared. However, this does not include the numerous scenes where William tries to talk to Yumi, and is ditched time and time again. I think this move by the writers combined with the ignoring of he Yumi/Ulrich relationship is foreshadowing a future relationship between the William and Yumi. This is also indicated by the general enmity Yumi holds for William when debating whether or not to allow him to join the team. The reason for this is the consistent habit of show writers to match up the rivals of opposing genders. At the season finale, just before William stabs Yumi in sector five, she says, "I knew it was a mistake to trust you."

It is the responsibility of the show writers to make sure that all of the characters solve their "issues" before the series ends. The lack of trust of anyone is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. And once Yumi does trust him, she will begin to like him and maybe even like him as more than a friend. However, this is a long way down the road, due to William's prisoner status. If Yumi were able to date him for a time and realize that he is not the one for her, then she could have logically moved on to Ulrich, and the hordes of shippers would be happy. But with William out of the picture, it is very difficult for her to move on.

Another reason season three killed my theory is what it did with the Odd/Sissi ship. In the first episode of season three Sissi kisses Odd on the nose. Why she did this is beyond me, but even if it does not indicate that she likes him, it does at least foreshadow it. Normally this would be a good thing, but not in season three. This is because season three began to hint at an Odd/Aelita ship. Small little instances, where Odd is semi-flirting seem to indicate this. Also the prequel established a physical attraction to Aelita on Odd's part. The more I think about it, the more this relationship makes sense.

The reason that I support any relationship is because I believe that the two could form a healthy adult relationship, based on their character. Therefore I often support ships that have little on screen evidence.

I feel that the Jeremie/Aelita ship was practically ignored in this season, and so it has now lost my support in favor of Odd/Aelita.

Whew, that was long and complicated. If you want to discuss it come to this thread.


End file.
